ISU makes house call to Squamish Nation activist

Dustin Rivers knew security officials would visit him

Dustin Rivers was sitting at home playing Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 on North Vancouver's Squamish reserve Nov. 3 when a knock came at the door.

His father came upstairs and gave him a business card reading "Joint Intelligence Group" and said there were two men at the door who wanted to talk to him.

Rivers knew this was coming. An activist of mixed Squamish and Kwakwaka'wakw heritage, he's an outspoken writer and artist and the mind behind "Liberated Yet," a blog that chronicles behind-the-scenes issues pertaining to the Squamish Nation.

He had heard about intelligence officials visiting perceived Olympic threats door to door and had a feeling they might come by soon.

Rivers went down to greet the men. There, standing at the door, were Cst. Kirk Rattray, an Intelligence Investigator with the Integrated Security Unit, a joint operation that's overseeing security during the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Games. With him was Jordan McLellan, also an Intelligence Investigator.

First the investigators offered him sweetgrass as a gesture of kindness. The offering made no sense to Rivers because, according to him, the Squamish Nation doesn't even grow the stuff.

Then the questions began.

"They asked me about what my intentions were during the Olympics in terms of protesting activities," he said in an interview. "They asked me what I thought about the Four Host First Nations and their involvement with the Olympics. They asked me about my involvment with the Native Youth Movement and the Warriors' Society."

Rivers had previously posted an image of the Native Warrior Society on his blog after members stole the Olympic flag from Vancouver City Hall. He then wrote that "Our children must know that some collaborated, and others resisted. No Olympics on Stolen Land!"

The investigators then asked him if he knew if anyone would get hurt as a result of protest activity, and whether he would help them and report to them if he knew of it happening.

Rivers didn't answer the question but the investigators persisted. He said the third time they asked him the question began to shift.

"At first it was if somebody gets hurt," he said. "They were kind of hounding me on it, do you want people to get hurt? Are you in support of hurting people?"

Finally the investigators asked whether he would help the ISU in case any property got damaged.

Eventually the questions turned to his own involvement in protest during the 2010 Games, and to that he couldn't give a definitive answer because he's not sure yet.